Pious visit to Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Kashi and Gaya —1

Mysuru city’s senior Rotarian couples and a few individuals went on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Kashi and Gaya. Rtn. Roopa Venkatesh, who was among the pilgrims, writes about these Holy places and her experiences.—Ed

By Rtn. Roopa Venkatesh

A group of 31 believers in Sanatana  Dharma, all senior Rotarians, left the city on 13th September, 2024 on a 8-day 7 nights pilgrimage to Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Kashi and Gaya. Mysuru city’s The Vacation, tourist agency, had organised the trip.

Losing sleep, catching an early morning 6 am flight to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, was uninspiring. It was a two-and-a-half-hour flight, but we were tired and hungry and sleep deprived. As I saw the board, “Welcome to Lucknow” at the Airport lounge I was reminded of the song “Yeh Lucknow ki sarzameen” from the film Chaudvin Ka Chaand. The city and its people are called artistes by the lyricist Shakeel Badayuni, crooned melodiously by Mohd Rafi in that film. A huge bus came to cart us for breakfast in downtown Lucknow about an hour’s journey.

The previous night’s rain had left a huge puddle, so we had to walk to get to our breakfast. Much fun was had in the bus, with chatter and stories on mythology according to the tour guide and within a short while we were checked in and lunching at “The Ramayana” (our  hotel) in Ayodhya.

A short rest and we were all ready to begin our spiritual visit. Our first stop was Lata Mangeshkar Chowk, where a huge Veena has been put up in memory of Lata, who has sung many Ram Bhajans which are very popular. River Sarayu flows here. Then we went to Nagnath Mandir, walking the Ram ki Paidhi — which is a shallow canal made for Rama and his brothers to take a dip in the Sarayu River. Legend has it that Kusha (Rama’s son) went for a dip in the Sarayu and dropped his armlet. A nagakanya (snake maiden) found it and she returned it to him with a request that he should marry her!! Kusha refused the request, but offered to give her anything else she would like. He then built a temple for Shiva (as Nagnath) as she was a devotee of Shiva.

We went to watch the Sarayu Aarti on the banks of the canal which was a flop, not worth taking trouble to see. The milling crowd was intimidating. Soon we were trudging back to the hotel tired, but anticipating the next day.

Day 2: Today was our tryst with the star attraction of our trip — The Ram Lalla Temple. We travelled by bus, then by auto and then by walk. It was because large buses aren’t allowed in certain streets. We arrived at the famed gates and after depositing our phones we were in the queue marked “Sugam Darshan.”  Two of our team members had taken the wheel chair, and we followed them and walked the nearly 1.5 km length, with occasional identity checks (a reminder of the times we live in).

Of course, the crowd was in a crush — men, women, children, old and even disabled. But it was a controlled, moving crowd. Chants of “Jai Shree Ram” is constantly in the air, imbuing the air with a sense of devotion as the devout inched their way along the narrow barricaded path to the                          sanctum sanctorum.

Once you see the idol, every other thought evaporates. The idol depicts Rama, as a young lad of about 5 years old, sculpted in black granite.

Pride is an important virtue — pride in our faith, in our getting back a part of our lost legacy and for our group a special pride — pride that the sculptor of the idol Arun Yogiraj is from Mysuru.

The temple is still being constructed (about 40% complete) but still is beautiful. And one must acknowledge that the administration has done a fine job… There is a huge seating/ waiting area, cooled with fans, there is a free hospital, clean toilets, information centre, and the security are courteous, constantly urging everyone to chant Rama’s name even while waiting in the long serpentine queue.

Then we decided to go to Hanuman Garhi — a fortress like construction dedicated to Lord Hanuman some distance away. However, some of us were dissuaded by the large crowds, blazing sun and the 76 steps which led to the shrine. So, we decided to stay put in a restaurant, while many braved it and went.

We sat there and watched the world go by — The faithful, the believers, the tourists, those who just came along, from different parts of India, all merging in a colourful Kaleidoscope. Faith can move mountains, and faith can move people, lots of them.

Palace of King Dasharath

Meanwhile, those who braved the sun had to turn back because of the crowds, but went instead to Dasharath Mahal (the small but beautiful Palace of Dasharath). Looking at it, it is not really much bigger than a big house — and it housed at least 1 king, 3 queens and 4 children, apart from servants and others!! And they went to Kanak Bhavan — a Palace gifted by Kaikeyi to Sita on her wedding! Seems that after all Kaikeyi is not a bad woman.

Returned to the hotel, The Ramayana, and later in the evening all of us met on the lovely green lawns. Pleasant evening, became quite fun as we all sat around, chatting and joking like friends should. We played dumb charades and found some smarties amongst us. We sang songs and found Bollywood encyclopedias amongst us, we found our own Kishores, Latas, Rafis and Ashas. Then it was time for dinner and to get ready for the next day — another day of new experiences.

Day 3: The next day saw us hurtling to Prayagraj, formerly called Allahabad or Illahabad. Lucknow is the State capital, but Prayagraj is the cultural and religious capital of UP. On the way we stopped at Nandigram, an iconic place in the Ramayana. Why is it called Nandigram? Well, apparently there was a bull — Nandi, who did not want to remain just a bull, so did penance to Shiva and was blessed by him to become a part of his entourage and his vehicle, the only animal in the army of Shiva which comprised mainly ganas — spirits! Shiva blessed him, that any work taken up after a prayer in Nandigram would achieve success!!

Now cut to Ramayana —  Rama was exiled for 14 years by his step-mother to ensure that her own son Bharata became the King. But Bharata would have none of it. He pleaded with Rama to return, but on meeting with refusal, he decides to stay at Nandigram (a distance from Ayodhya) and lived the life of an ascetic, shunning fine garments or food. He lived in a small hut, slept on the floor, and ruled Ayodhya from there by keeping Rama’s footwear on the throne. There is Bharat Kund — the pond where he took a bath everyday, the Bharat Gufa (his humble cave like dwelling). And when Rama returned, he met with his brother here and so there is a Ram-Bharat Milap (meeting) Mandir.

Story also goes that when Hanuman was returning fetching the Sanjeevani Mountain, to save Lakshmana who had been rendered unconscious by Meghanath (Ravana’s son), he cast a large shadow on the ground. Bharata thought it to be an enemy and shot an arrow to bring Hanuman down, rendering him unconscious. However, he noticed that Hanuman was constantly chanting Rama’s name and realised that he was indeed a friend and not an enemy. Hanuman was revived and friendship ensued between Bharata and Hanuman, so there is a Bharat- Hanuman Milap Mandir.

We restarted our journey toward Prayagraj, stopping at Pratapgarh. Apart from being famous for gooseberries, it is also infamous for being the bastion of Raja Bhaiya — a Bollywood like goon, who is also a sitting MLA!!

Post-lunch in Prayagraj, it was time to go to see the sights. The Anand Bhawan and Swaraj Bhavan — two buildings adjacent to each other, which were earlier the residence of the Nehru family and where Indira Gandhi was born and grew up. Both these buildings are now a museum and house various photographs of Indira Gandhi’s childhood, early political career and marriage. There is also a marriage mantap where Indira and Feroze Gandhi got married.

We also went to Chandrasekhar Azad Park. A well-known freedom fighter, Azad was a wanted man. He had come to that park (earlier known as Alfred Park) to meet a friend. Someone betrayed him and informed the British. Soon there was a platoon of soldiers hunting him. Azad was carrying a gun and managed to bring down quite a few of the officers, but soon realised that he had but one bullet left, and many more officers to go. So, he chose to shoot himself, instead of being captured and tortured by the British. Now this park is called Azad Park.

It was getting dark, and we were getting tired, so back we went to the hotel to call it a night, gathering our strength for yet another day.

Day 4: Post-breakfast we were headed to Chitrakoot. When Rama was exiled from Ayodhya, he came to Prayagraj (123 kms) to Bharadwaj Ashram, sought the blessings of the sage, who advised him on how and where to spend his exile of 14 years. Rishi Bharadwaja guided him to stay in Chitrakoot (131 kms),  a picturesque forest. So, Rama, Lakshmana and Sita spent 11.5 years of their exile period at Chitrakoot.

Chitrakoot lies partly in the State of UP and partly in the State of MP (Satna Dist). The temple there of Kamadnath — Rama, as the bestower of all Kama’s (desires) —was slightly underwhelming. At times words weave a picture that doesn’t match reality!! It is said that if you circumambulate the Kamadgiri mountain barefoot, all your wishes will be fulfilled. However, we did not brave it, partly because of time and sun and partly because we were already feeling “blessed”!

From there we went to Gupt Godavari. A cave system which comprises two sets of caves, which have knee deep water and two throne-like structures (believed to be for Rama and Lakshmana). It is said that Godawari (the river) wanted to offer her salutations to Rama, but did not want to face her sister Ganga, came to meet him clandestinely through this cave. But if you look at it from the security point of view, it is a safe getaway for royals (the risk to life is high).

We took a scary adventurous auto drive to the base of the caves. With the drivers spewing expletives, cursing all and sundry, pushing, shouting, supposedly in good humour, they took us all, shaken and stirred to the base of the caves!!

We had a short climb to the steps to reach the caves and soon found ourselves in a huge line of pilgrims, which was not moving at all!! Apparently, because of the likely lack of oxygen in the caves, only a limited number of people are let in at one time! After an interminable wait, we decided to turn back, but then some of our team members managed to hoodwink the security and dashed into the caves from the exit side, and emerged with some photos and videos for us to see!!

We then decided to go on the Ropeway to Hanuman Dhara. Legend has it that when Hanuman complained to Rama that after burning Lanka with his tail, he still has a burning sensation in his body, Rama advised him to go to this waterfall and his pain vanished — it is called Hanuman Dhara.

On alighting from the ropeway and being greeted by monkeys galore, it was a short but steep climb to the temple. The view from the ropeway was picturesque and we were all rewarded for our efforts with a beautiful view of the full moon which seemed to come out only to say hello to us…..shortly thereafter it began to pour!

The drive back was bad. The road was spread with bad road (our first and only) which was an excuse of boulders all over. The driver had a tough time, negotiating it and after much hemming and hawing and backing and forthing, he managed to get back to a fairly proper stretch of road.

It was nearly midnight when we reached the hotel, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that dinner buffet awaited us!!

[To be continued tomorrow]